Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

21 reviews

icefairy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book can't possibly be written by a man, it feels like younger me at the ages of 11, 14, 15 and 16 all came together in a room to put in their troubles, thoughts, fears and feelings into a book that was then warped into being told by the most unreliable of narrators- obsessed teenage boys. the language flows in a way nothing I've read ever has and the content to description ratio is so perfect for me it feels like a duvet covering me in a cold winter

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

myfff's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I found this incredibly bleak. Obviously the title doesn’t set you up for a happy story but what I found jarring is that the style of narration is so detached, like a scientific review or a court case and the deaths of these girls is not only known (due to the plot) but feels inevitable for them. 

It has the energy of an American Classic in the same way Gatsby does and I can see why so many people love it, however I found it much more interesting once I had read some analyses of it after finishing it - so if you’re looking for something with themes and a need for analysis this is definitely for you, if you want a story to enjoy maybe not so much.

The most interesting point (after analysing) is to see these boys who say they loved them actually didn’t know them at all and were just infatuated by the idea of these unknown women who live opposite them but are always  just out of reach. The style is also a brilliant insight to the complexities of teenage girls, as the adult men who are trying to remember the events through the eyes of themselves as teenage boys, think they understand these teenage girls but realise they never could. Interestingly the author being male also raises the question for me of how well could he understand these girls, and with that in mind they do have a slightly ‘manic pixie dreamgirl’ quality to them. 

My highlight of the book was the prom where the reader is able to engage with the girls properly for the first time, not just through the eyes and words of those around them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual content

merle98's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is a strike of genius that could have been ever so slightly more concise. But what a great critique of the male gaze and suburban society. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Classism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization

sharanle0808's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexism

ambercunningham's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Gore, Death, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

zzaranazz's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

overhyped and the definition of manic pixie dream girls; the lisbon girls kill themselves and the boys in the street have no idea how to cope with that. that’s the whole plot of the book. there’s definitely some earnest attempts at character building but they fall flat. this didn’t live up to the hype.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Sexual assault

xx_wench's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

harrowingly beautiful. this book will haunt you with its mischievous wonder and boyish charm. it is daunting and depressing and curious. i read it in a day, i could not put it down. i ultimately knew the ending, as it is told to you within the first sentence of the book, and yet, i was shocked to read it. 

from the point of view of a conglomerate of boys grown into men, we sit on the sidelines and bear witness to a cul-de-sac tragedy. if you are interested in humorous, bleak, gothic literature, read this!

the negatives i found in this book seem to suit the point of it, which is the fact that we our outsiders looking in, sexualizing these young girls in their distress, romanticizing their downfall, viewing them as depthless objects. we do not know these girls and we never will. 

here is the one and only critique i have under a spoiler:

the overall sexualization of these girls is obviously written with purpose by the author, but it is still a little overwhelming at certain points, and icks me out when i think about the book being written by a 33 year old man. the moment where lux goes to the hospital, and makes note of the doctor "falling in love with a 14 year old girl" is where we breach the line of boyish lack-of-empathy and dive into more malicious behavior. this is my only note on the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

allipan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault

woolyj's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, and Sexual assault

lexigrce's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

this book is just so tragic, the irony of telling a whole story encapsulating these girls’ lives when they truly didn’t know them at all. i remember first watching the movie when i was maybe 16 or 17 and writing it off. but when i rewatched it a year ago, despite being even further from the sisters’ ages than i originally was, i actually understood. reading the book somehow feels more real, seeing the story as it is without the added glitz of familiar celebrity faces, a bunch of made up stories constructed so that the boys could feel interesting and connected to the girls, as if they could even for a second understand what it felt like to be them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt